Grappling With Raymond Chandler

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

This is a plea for help, because I imagine there must be a Chandler fan or two among the Horde. I've been trying to get into The Big Sleep, but it feels like I'm more reading a script for movie than trying to grapple with a novel. There's a lot of snappy-patter back and forth, which I suspect, is the appeal.

I really liked Double Indemnity (the movie) and somehow the wit worked better there, perhaps because Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson are there to bring it to life. I find myself not really caring about the narrator or anyone else.

UPDATE: These responses are awesome. Thank you. Everyone. I think I'm going to do a weekly thread on whatever I'm reading.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/11/grappling-with-raymond-chandler/265389/